I often get asked by customers how many uplighters they need for their event and what type of light would be suitable. There is no simple answer for these questions, but hopefully in the article, I can shed a bit of light on the topic (pun totally intended!).
So let’s get into it….

Type Of Mood Lighting

There are many types of light that can be used for mood lighting. At London Sound and Light we offer a selection of these for hire. Below you will find a list of these lights and a run down on the pros and cons.

These are the cheapest form of uplighter. The low price tag does come at the cost of having to run cables which besides being much less tidy, is also more labour intensive. Another factor is the options for control. With these lights, if you wish to change the colour at will, you need to connect DMX cables between each light, set the channels, and then use a DMX controller. While this is a much more work, the main benefit is that you can easily create custom fade options, and you have no worries when it comes to battery life.

Wireless uplighters are by far our most popular type of light. The ease of use is hard to ignore, and with modern technology, these no longer need to weigh more than small elephant. In fact, with the Chauvet Freedom Par, you can actually carry 4 in each hand with very little strain. The remote control makes changing the colour as easy as changing a TV channel. The battery will last for up to 15 hours on a single colour, but this is reduced to approximately 8 hour on some programs. For most events, this is more than enough, but for events spanning multiple days, recharging these lights is definitely something that needs to be considered. Usually, these lights are only suitable for indoor use, but Chauvet do also offer an IP rated range.

Another type of light which is often used for mood lighting is the LED Batten. These lights offer incredible brightness and functionality. We use the Chauvet ColorPix USB. I’ve found that these work great not only for stage lighting, but also placed behind sofas and other units and they wash a much wider space on a wall. I do feel these should be used sparingly in most cases but when appropriate, there is nothing quite like it.

Thought Process

Let’s take a closer look at some questions you should ask before lighting a venue:
1) What affect are you after? Would you like to completely wash out a room in colour, or just highlight the main features?
2) What aspects of the venue lend itself well to uplighters? *Plain walls and corners work really well. Columns, arches, domes all work great. Think about how the light will reflect, and also consider shadowing.
3) What is your budget for the lighting?
4) Is there easy access to plug sockets or do you need to go wireless?
5) Do you need to change the colour of the lights mid event?
6) Is part of the event outdoors? Do you need IP rated lights?

Case Study

Picture A

In image A, you can see a venue we often work at called the West Reservoir Centre. With the very high ceilings, white walls, and unique architectural layout, the venue lends itself very well to uplighting. When I first walked into this venue to do a recce, the immediate thought that crossed my mind was the amount of natural light flooding in. This is a huge consideration for daytime events, especially during summer, as the effectiveness of any light will be reduced massively by this alone. I always make a point of discussing this with the client, even if the event starts earlier and will go on into the evening. The reason is that first impressions count, and I don’t want the client to be underwhelmed by the lighting when the walk in. It’s important to keep expectations realistic. As the night goes on, mood lighting really comes into its own.

Picture B

In image B, you can see the uplighters on an overcast day. The lights we used are Chauvet Freedom Pars which are battery operated. This means there are no unsightly cables running anywhere and everything can be kept clean and tidy. Due to the placement inside the RSJs and the fact it was overcast that day, the lights look really vibrant. As you may be able to tell from the image, this event wasn’t due to start for another few hours, so by the time the Bride and Groom arrived, it was already evening.

With most forms of lighting, symmetry is a key consideration. When deciding how many uplights are needed for this venue, I walked around and made a mental note of key places they would work. Now in this venue it was quite easy – 1 on each pillar (front, facing the door way), 2 on the back wall, and symmetrically coming down the room, another 4 lights. Through all of the events I have done here, this has proven to be the winning formula. Most people have agreed that you don’t need lights on the back of the pillars as it would be too bright and overpowering. The other consideration here is always cost, and it’s important to balance quality and quantity. Using more lights is not always better.

Wrap Up

Mood lighting is not the most complex of effects, but it can take a bit of practise to make it really effective. Take time before plaing any lights to assess the venue and choose the right placements. Consider symmetry a priority, and try not to overdo it. Stick to these rules and you can’t go far wrong. For very large venues, it may be worth consulting a company, such as us who can walk around the venue with you and give you professional advice.

With Christmas just around the corner, it is very important to plan ahead, to ensure no disappointed faces at this very special time of year! Here at PBL Hire, we are leading North East Snow Machine Hire suppliers, both for professional and home domestic use.

But when would you use North East Snow Machine Hire?

One of our most common Snow Machine hire hire scenarios during the Christmas festive season is people wanting to add something different to their event. Commonly, they use the snow machines to welcome guests into their house through having this suspended above the main entrance. Another use would be to have this based in a back garden or main party area. All our North East Snow Machine Hire options use water based fluid, which means the snow – which is similar to bubble/foam dissipates – and in worst case would even act as a cleaning agent.

All our North East Snow Machine Hire packages are delivered direct to your venue, and set up for you, to ensure all is working and importantly safe.

Another popular use of a Snow Machine Hire would be at a Christmas Mobile Disco, to bring something that extra bit special to the party. Again, our smaller indoor Snow Machines are suitable for use at Discos, we can even do a fantastic deal when booking a Snow Machine.

Remember, why not make this Christmas that extra bit special with a North East Snow Machine hire.

we use machines by antari , snowboy and lemaitre- please find links below to the types of machines we use

The Large Snow Machine produces abundant amounts of very realistic imitation snow over an area of several metres, which will lay provided the ground is dry. The Snow machine has a two speed fan to adjust coverage area. To improve coverage place the Snow machine as high up as possible, maybe on a lighting tripod (available seperately if required), or perhaps through an upstairs open window. The Snow machine is supplied with a 10 metre cabled remote control for on/off and snow flow rate, and comes with 5 litres of snow fluid, which is enough for 30-40 minutes of continuous use on full power. Additional Snow fluid may be purchased if required in 5 litre bottles. The running time can be significantly increased by reducing the output of snow, although most hirer’s tell us that you really get the wow factor with the machine on maximum. These Snow machines do make some noise due to the high power fan used to project the snow over an area of several metres.

LED Uplighting is fast becoming more and more popular at weddings and parties alike. Correctly used LED uplighting can transform a
room in seconds from a dark and boring room, into something magical, inviting and warming. There are many uses for LED uplighting, and a wide range of styles and techniques people use to do it.

Here at PBL, we use the latest LED uplighting products in order to transform your room, safely, quickly and effectively. Our LED Uplighting packages use 3 main LED uplighting fixtures.

Firstly, we use par can LED uplighters, which can manually be set to static colours through DMX channel pins. These fixtures can also be run through a colour chase either by sound activated, or through a manually set fade speed.

Secondly, we use battery powered LED bars and battery powered LED par can uplighters. Here, we are not restricted to where we can put LED uplighting. This new technology battery powered uplighting kits can run for around 9 hours on a full charge. One key advantage to these LED uplighting kits is that no wires are use what so ever, and these fixtures are even programmed and set via a wireless remote. For example, you could have all the uplighters on pink through your wedding, then when the party really starts you can wirelessly set the lights to chase and pulse with the music.

Finally, we have LED uplighting bars which come in a 50cm and 100cm length size. These can be hung around a room, or strategically in places like window arches and round the back of seating. These are DMX controlled, so can be held on a static colour, or manually programmed to chase to music or pre-programmed another sequence.

However, remember, LED uplighting is not only for weddings, LED uplighting can be used to transform any room.

One of our best LED uplighting jobs is around Halloween, where we transform venues to eerie dark green and spooky atmospheres with our uplighting and smoke effects.

A wedding should be the happiest day of your life, and you want it go run smoothly and stress free – right down to all your wedding PA system hire needs. The last thing you need is on your big day, a microphone cutting out, speakers crackling or worse case, nothing working at all. This is why we have established a positive name in wedding pa system hire in the area through providing great equipment, a fast and safe set up with delivery time as well as offering all of this at a fair price. Many companies, DJs and wedding equipment suppliers use weddings as a opportunity to boost income by charging extra – we simply don’t.

Their are many uses for our wedding pa systems, and many people are moving away from having a traditional wedding disco in favour of the bride and groom creating a playlist, and simply plugging it into a sound system – our systems can be used like this for background music during the day, as well as on the night time reception for party music. We can even provide you with disco lighting just to be used on the evening.

All of our wedding pa system hire equipment is all PAT tested, PLI insured. We deliver the equipment direct to your wedding location and set it all up for you, we also will demo the equipment on how to use it – keeping it nice and simple for your big day. We will then pack down and collect the equipment after the wedding.

The hire pa system can also be used for speeches through wired and wireless microphones – both reliable and high quality. Please see below some recent feedback on one of our wedding pa system hire jobs:

“The PA was absolutely superb and exactly what we needed. It all worked flawlessly and was just right for the marquee size.”
– Chris, Wedding

Here at PBL Hire, we have a wide range of DJ Equipment Hire North East region. From simple CD player hire, right through to a full mobile disco DJ system with lights, sound system and smoke! We can provide it all. Based in Hartlepool, we can supply, deliver and set up right across the North East.

All of our DJ Equipment Hire North East is fully insured and PAT tested and we have experience working in key venues in Hartlepool, Newcastle, Sunderland & more.

DJ Equipment Hire North East Sound Systems

Our DJ equipment hire sound systems including key speaker brands such as DAS Audio, Bose & Mackie. All of our systems are now powered active speakers as well so you don’t need to worry about having amplifiers.

DJ Equipment Hire North East Lighting Show Hire

Our DJ equipment hire lighting systems are all new technology LED lighting, and again we only use high end disco lighting technology from KAM, American DJ, Martin and Acme brands. We can hire you a great looking light show for a fraction of the cost!

If you require a mobile disco DJ along with the equipment for the complete solution, we can also provide this.

Here at PBL Hire, we specialise in Wedding Sound System Hire right across the North East. From a small social club wedding looking for a basic system on a smaller budget, to a larger North East Wedding Venue looking for LED uplighting, and a larger wedding sound system, we can supply it all.

We have years of experience in key North East Wedding venues such as Wynyard Hall, The Grand Hotel, The Hillcarter, Hallgarth Manor, Hardwicke Hall, Durham Castle, Hartlepool Marina, Wynyard Golf Club, Bamburgh Castle, Beamish Hall, Rockliffe Hall, Langley Castle and many, many more.

But what can we offer as part of your Wedding Sound System Hire?

Wedding Sound System Hire – we can supply wired and wireless wedding microphones which are perfect for speeches and announcements. Our systems can also be used for background music when eating or guests arriving/departing.

Wedding Disco Equipment Hire – we can supply a wide range of professional and great looking wedding disco lights alongside your Wedding Sound System Hire which can allow you to play the music of your choice yourself and really get the party started in a disco atmosphere. We can supply smoke, haze and bubble machines upon request.

Wedding iPod system hire – all of our systems can be used with a iPod, laptop, iPad or anything with a 3.5mm (headphone) socket. This allows you maximum flexibility when choosing how you would like to play your music. We can also provide CD mixers, CD decks, and CD players.

If you would really like to get the right atmosphere, we can also supply wedding LED uplighting, to make the entire room look the same as your colour scheme. For example, we can place pink LED up lights around the room, which will transform even the most elegant of rooms into something completely different and extra special.

It is important to ensure when booking a Wedding Sound System, with or without lighting to bare in mind that all venues should be requiring valid PLI (public liability insurance) and PAT (portable appliance test) documents before your wedding date. We hold both of these along with valid CRB checks which can be shown upon request when working around vulnerable people. We are a respected, limited company, with high morals and ethics about providing the right package, and the best service and importantly at a fair price for all involved. We accept payment via a wide range of methods, and a full invoice and agreement is provided upon booking for you own peace of mind.

We would love to be involved and a part of your wedding function, and go above and beyond the call of duty to help.

There’s nothing more we like that a good Ceilidh Band PA Hire

But what is a Céilidh for those of you who don’t know. Well, a Céilidh involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. Originating in Ireland and Scotland it’s now common form of entertainment across the UK. Here at PBL Hire, we regulary supply Ceilidh Band PA Hire to bands looking for a complete system or even individual pieces of equipment in addition to their own. One of our most favourite Céilidh bands to work with are the ones in Durham University, a greta bunch of people playing music for the enjoyment of themselves and others.

A typical Ceilidh Band PA Hire system will includes powerful loudspeakers, one or two vocal microphone hire, and lots of instrument microphones including ones suitable for flutes, fiddles, accordions and much more. Along with the PA system elements, we also provide with our Ceilidh Band PA Hire packages, a wide range of lighting options, suitable for lighting a wide range of venues and scenarios.

Don’t forget, we can also provide North East PA Hire with our experienced sound & lighting engineers

To find out more about our Ceilidh Band PA Hire packages, please use the quick contact form to the right, or click here to contact us

Here at PBL Hire, we offer premium Microphone Hire North East. From wired microphones right the way through to wireless hand held and lapel microphones, we are sure to have a microphone hire solution for you. All of our microphone hire packages can be collected from our North East collection point, or can also be delivered direct to your venue and set up for you.

Please find below, a few of our common uses of our Microphone Hire North East packages :

Band Microphone Hire

We stock a wide range of band Microphone Hire North East, perfect for live performances, from the legendary Shure SM58 vocal microphone right the way through to AKG drum microphones. One of our most popular microphones hired from us is the iconic Shure SM57, perfect for capturing a wide range of instruments including snare drums and guitar cabs.

Conference Microphone Hire

We also stock a comprehensive range of conference Microphone Hire North East from handheld wireless mics, right through to tie clip microphones. Furthermore, we can also supply lectern mics.

DJ Microphone Hire

Here at PBL Hire, we also stock a fantastic range of DJ microphones, perfect for mobile DJs & nightclub DJs alike. From the wired, mobile DJ favourite the Shure PG58, which has been used for years and is a firm favourite, right the way through to wireless microphones perfect for entertainers.

North East Wedding Microphone Hire

PBL Hire specialise in Wedding Sound Systems, and importantly North East Wedding Microphone hire. We provide wireless microphones which are ideally suited for best man speeches and so on. If you looking for an entire wedding package, why not look at getting Wedding LED Uplighting, a wedding sound system and even a Wedding DJ through PBL Discos as well. We have done more than 100 weddings, all with very happy clients, let us help you, make your day extra special and importantly, run smoothly.

Please click here to enquire today into our Microphone Hire North East Packages, use the simple to use form to the right

Here at PBL Hire, we are always looking for innovative, unique products in our hire range, for many years now, traditional and LED scanners have been a very popular product from our disco lighting hire range. We now offer a new product, scanning lasers in our hire stock.

The XY Laser from Kam is an innovative new laser that uses new lighting technology to recreate a scanning effect, usually only found in a scanner disco light. In a traditional scanner, a flat mirror is used to reflect the light source through 90 and 120 degrees, thus, giving the scanning moving effect. Until this point, laser technology has not been able to properly recreate this effect in a laser form due to price, safety and technology. The latest KAM laser range has now achieved this scanning laser effect. Importantly, here at PBL Hire, these new scanning lasers are available to hire today.

The technology behind this advance in allows safe use of moving lasers is complicated, however, in simple terms, KAM scanning lasers will not produce a “hotspot” or pinpoint dense single point of laser, i.e. it is always moving, doesn’t stop, meaning a dense point is never created. Think of it like being in the shower, one source of water is strong and wouldn’t be enjoyable, however, with the shower head on, causes a wide dispersion of the same amount of water, but at a less forceful level. The technology which allows this to never happen is called MSP (motor stop protection), and this monitors the beam via its drivers and is programmed to ensure they are always moving – thus never allow a concentrated spot of activity.

But why should you use scanning lasers?

Our new KAM XY scanning lasers can be linked together, sound active, master slave or via DMX to cover your venue through a impressive multi-coloured, multi-patterned laser show which incorporates every part of the room. We recently used this for a DJ night, and with a little smoke in the air looked amazing. Long gone are the days of having lasers originating from one point, todays DJ nights are all about lasers, and importantly having something unique.

See below a video from one of our latest nightclub laser hire packages, and don’t forget we can also supply you with sound system hire or even a mobile disco DJ if also required.

Please use the contact form to the right hand side to enquire into our scanning laser hire or click here to get in touch

Our iPod Disco package is ideal for weddings! If you have booked a band to play at your wedding, or maybe a wedding singer, why shell out the added cost for a DJ as well? Especially when they are getting paid to watch your wedding singer! If so, our iPod Disco is perfect to keep your guests entertained whilst the band or act aren’t playing.

With our Ipod Disco – all you need to do is simply make a playlist of music on your iPod, iPad, Laptop or anything at all with a standard 3.5mm headphone socket.

Even if you haven’t booked a band, our iPod Disco solution is our most popular service for weddings, and is becoming even more popular. Ideal for couples wanting ultimate control on what music is played, along with people wanting to have their function on a tighter budget. You can both have a great iPod Disco system at a fantastic price, 100% insured and PAT tested. Furthermore, you could even use it to play music during your wedding breakfast and even for best man speeches and other announcements. We can supply you with a wireless microphone to do so.